


Don't forget the fish

by pixiedustatsundown



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, First Meetings, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17862098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixiedustatsundown/pseuds/pixiedustatsundown
Summary: “I accidentally killed a fish and am now in desperate need of some flowers to stop Pansy from murdering me.” The smug grin fell from the man’s face and he was instead frowning in confusion. Irritatingly, he didn’t look any less attractive for it. Or maybe it was a good thing he didn’t. Draco certainly wasn’t going to complain.





	Don't forget the fish

That was not good. Not good at all. Pansy was going to skin him alive and make him eat it. Or worse. Honestly, Draco should have expected something like that might happen. It was hardly the first time he forgot everything around him, caught up in some bizarre topic or other. That tended to happen rather often actually. Draco might say it came with the job, him being a journalist and all, but in reality he chose his work exactly _because_ of this tendency. It allowed him to study anything he thought fascinating or curious and write enthusiastic articles about it. So while he was supposed to feed Pansy’s fish he had instead spent the last week in the library, buried in books and gathering facts on the mortuary cult of Ancient Egypt. Which was way more interesting than feeding some stupid fish anyway. But Pansy had entrusted him with this responsibility, which _really_ made the whole thing _her fault_ if you think about it, and left for her holiday somewhere warmer and sunnier. And while he could try to distract her with delightful facts about soul and consciousness of the dead, Draco was _pretty_ sure she would eventually notice her precious fish missing. And somehow he doubted Pansy would appreciate him shifting the blame to her. 

He might be able to replace it if he had more time but Pansy was supposed to be back in only a few short hours, which left hardly any time at all to find a convincing substitute. It might be _just_ enough time to flee the country though. But as soon as Pansy realised he’d killed her fish and cowardly fled she would undoubtedly hunt him down and it’d be worse than if he had confessed to it directly. Probably. After all, it wasn’t cold blooded murder but rather an obsession induced forgetfulness that caused the poor animals death. Draco wasn’t sure that distinction would make Pansy any less likely to murder _him_ in return though. Maybe if he could start making amends already, to show his good will, she’d be inclined to let him redeem himself. Expressing his honest regret was surely more believable if he had flowers or something as well as his verbal assurances, wasn’t it? Even if it wasn’t, it could always serve as bribe. 

Draco desperately wished for some inane social rule on what to do in this situation, some commonly accepted gesture saying “I’m deeply sorry I accidentally killed your fish. I promise I honestly didn’t mean to and will do everything in my power to make it up to you.” To his knowledge, which was quite extensive thanks to his mother insisting on its utmost importance, there was no such gesture. Ridiculous really, there were social norms for the weirdest things but _of course_ nothing you would actually ever _need_. He supposed he could always ask his mother for advice, she would probably know exactly how to handle the situation. She would also be very disappointed, way too amused and just a little bit smug about it. No, better to leave his mother out of it completely. She would never let him forget it and Draco was reasonably sure Pansy would see to that already. The only thing Draco could think of presently were flowers, which was rather standard really but would have to do. Pansy would certainly be able to think of more he could do to make amends, just a subtle reminder to that one time he killed her fish and how he kind of owed her. He would have to do whatever she wanted for the next month at least.

* * *

The flower shop seemed to belong in one of these old paintings of sunny market places with its buckets filled with various flowers shaded by a striped marquise. Honestly how he never noticed it before was a mystery to Draco, seeing as it wasn’t far from his flat at all. Entering the shop he was immediately engulfed in that special smell that seemed reserved for flower shops only, exhilaratingly alive while simultaneously calming. Looking around he saw pots with more flowers, ready-made bouquets and other floral arrangements. It was absolutely beautiful. He was startled out of his reverie by someone who must be the shop assistant greeting him. The unexpected noise made Draco flinch as he stumbled around, causing the bloke to laugh. Wanker. Admittedly, he was an extremely good looking wanker, so maybe Draco could forgive him this once. The most noticeable thing about him were his strikingly green eyes, full of life and humour. It shouldn’t be allowed to have such expressive eyes, brimming with emotion. They should also be hidden by the glasses he wore but they only served to make them stand out more. Same with the black mess of hair. What could easily resemble a bird’s nest instead gave him a just shagged look. The look was continued with a pair of well-worn jeans that sat dangerously low on his hips. Draco quickly looked up again, trying hard not to blush. Judging by the smug smile though he was not very successful with that. Deciding to pretend he wasn’t horribly flustered he quickly pulled himself together, donning what Pansy liked to call his Malfoy-mask and moved to stand in front of the incredibly handsome man.

“I accidentally killed a fish and am now in desperate need of some flowers to stop Pansy from murdering me.” The smug grin fell from the man’s face and he was instead frowning in confusion. Irritatingly, he didn’t look any less attractive for it. Or maybe it was a good thing he didn’t. Draco certainly wasn’t going to complain. He didn’t understand the reason for the confusion though; he thought he was being perfectly clear. He had killed a fish and therefore had to earn forgiveness to prevent his impending murder, what was not to understand there? Not allowing his own internal frown to show on his face he continued smiling patiently and watched as his request was slowly processed. 

“I’m sorry, you did what?” Oh, Draco had been sure he had finally overcome whatever caused the problem but apparently not. The bloke looked incredulous and terribly amused. Draco frowned at him. “I _literally just_ said that, I killed a fish. Is that somehow difficult to understand?” Okay, so maybe he was _slightly_ defensive and just snapped at the man for a justified question. He supposed he _had_ given very little information. 

“Oh of course, my apologies. Just right over there is where we keep our _Sorry I killed your fish_ assortment. Do you want a _Please don’t murder me_ card or balloon?” Draco couldn’t help it, he laughed. Evidently the bloke wasn’t stupid after all and rather funny. Maybe the Malfoy-mask wasn’t the right approach here. 

“Let’s try that again. Hi I’m Draco, pleased to meet you. I was recently entrusted with the welfare of a fish by my dear Pansy who is just now coming back from her holiday. Unfortunately I got lost in the Egyptian realm of the dead and consequently forgot all about the fish in my care. Which cost the fish his life and maybe mine as well if I can’t convince Pansy to refrain from murder and instead make me pay until the natural end of my life, trying in vain to gain forgiveness. I had hoped that a carefully chosen bouquet of flowers might reflect these intentions and thereby save my life.” He looked confused again and for a short moment Draco debated whether he should just leave and buy flowers somewhere else, when he broke out in a loud laugh. He had a really nice laugh. Draco decided to stay. For totally unrelated reasons of course. He simply had no time to search for another flower shop, convey the dire situation and be back before Pansy arrives, that’s all. 

“It’s very nice to meet you Draco, I’m Harry. I am deeply distraught to hear how very near your death is and offer my services to help you avert that horrible fate.” Then he went down on one knee, pretending to be a knight of old, offering his sword in service. Draco wasn’t sure if he was mocking his melodramatic little speech until Harry looked up at him, eyes sparkling with mischief and failing to hide a smirk. It seemed Harry had a flair for the dramatic too. Thus encouraged Draco drew himself up to his full height and tried to look imperious. “I gladly accept your service, you may rise” With Harry once again standing (was he closer than before or did he imagine that?) Draco actually had to tilt his head up a little to look into his eyes. They silently stared at each other for a moment until they were suddenly laughing again. 

The following silence had the potential to become _very_ awkward, _very_ fast and Draco was searching for something to say when Harry cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair. He seemed rather flustered. “Well now that I pledged my soul to you-” here he smiled at Draco, not flustered anymore but surprisingly warm and earnest -“did you have anything specific in mind?”

“I haven’t really thought about that actually. Purple hyacinths classically express sorrow and apologies and they are quite beautiful, so these. Geranium means stupidity or folly; that might fit as well. Maybe bluebells too, they stand for humility. Hydrangea can mean thank you for understanding, if paired right. Daffodil might represent forgiveness. Why are you looking at me like that?” Harry stared at him, astonished and apparently just listening to Draco naming flowers. 

That shook him out of his daze. “Nothing, just -” and he ran his fingers through his hair again, which explained the glorious mess it was in –“I wasn’t aware you knew what all those flowers meant, is all.” There was that smile again, that bright, honest smile making Draco feel warm and wanting to smile back. 

“Oh, well. I don’t know all that many really. Just the major ones, I’m sure you know more than me, part of the job and all that.” Why did he have to be blushing again? It wasn’t even a real compliment, no need to blush. 

“In fact, I know absolutely nothing about the Secret Languages of Flowers. And I don’t actually work here. I mean, I kind of _do_ , but not on a permanent basis? The shop belongs to my grandma, you see. She has always wanted one, since she was a little girl she says, so when she came from India with grandpa he bought her this shop. Anyway, bottom line is, this shop here is her dream come true and she wouldn’t trust anyone not-family with it. So whenever they go on holyday or something I mind the shop for her.” 

“Wait, are you saying you don’t know what a _single_ flower in here means?” That couldn’t possibly be what Harry meant, could it? Wasn’t one required to know that when one worked in a flower shop, on a permanent basis or not? Even more importantly though, flowers are _beautiful_ and a whole language consisting of them was simply marvellous. 

“Not quite. Hyacinths mean sorrow, geranium folly and daffodil forgiveness. I did listen to you, you know.” Predictably, that made Draco’s heart beat faster than the situation warranted. It seemed even small smiles of Harry had the power to render him completely useless. He had to sternly remind himself of the marvel the Language of Flowers was and how Harry had to discover it as well. And maybe, how very much Draco would like to be the one to introduce him to it. 

“That is unacceptable. I can’t allow you to live in ignorance any longer. I will have to teach you, anything else isn’t fair to the flowers.” Draco was proud to say that he sounded very determined und self-assured. He _felt_ neither of these things. Quite the opposite, he was scared Harry wouldn’t want him to; that he would make him pay for his flowers and throw him out. But Harry smiled and this particular smile relieved all his fears. 

“I would like that very much, Draco” 

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated!  
> If you liked this story you can [reblog it on Tumblr](https://pixiedustatsundown.tumblr.com/post/182935283273/dont-forget-the-fish)


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